Cleaner for guns.



no.' 709,557. Patented sept. y2s, :902.

E. A. PUGH. CLEANER FUR GUNS.V

(Applicatio med sept. sa, 1899.)

(No Model) Unitarian Sterns llaornrvr Option.

EDIVIN A. PUGI'I, OIF SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLES A. ORR, OF SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS.

CLEANER FOR GUNS.

PECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 709,557, dated September 23, 1902.

Application filed September 22,1899. Serial No. 731,308. (No model.)

Be it known that I, EDWIN A. PUGH, residing at No. 11.16 North Eleventh street, Springfield, in the county of Saugauion, and in the State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cleaners ior Guns, dre.; and I do hereby declare that the followingisa full, clear, and exaotdescription thereof", reference being had to the accompaio nying drawings, in which` Figure l is a perspective view oi' a guncleaner embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section thereof. Fig. in is adeY tail view, in side elevation, ot' one ol' the i5 cleaner-bars detached; and Fig. fl is au enlarged cross-section on the line a; a: ot' Fig. 3.

Letters of like name and kind refer to like parts in each of the liigu res.

The object of my invention is to provide a zo simple and thoroughly-efficient cleaner for gun-barrels and other tuhesforln structures; and to this end said invention consists in the cleaner having the features of construction substantially as hereinafter' specified.

1n the carrying of my invention into practice I employ a circular series of thin bars or strips A and A, that consist each of two nonalining portions which extend substantially parallel and a third portion ct at the longitu- 3o dinal center of the bar that extends obliquely and has its opposite edges sharp. The respective ends of the bars A and A are secured to collars B and B, one of which is fixed to a rod O, that passes longitudinally through the series of bars, and the other of which collars is loosely mounted on said rod so as to be capable of movement along the saine. Each bar A is bent or bowed so that it curves or arches outward between the collars B and B 4o from the rod, the portion a being farthest from the latter, and it also curves in a direction at right angles to the axis of the rod. Elastic or spring material, preferably brass, is used for the bars. The spring of the bars is such that the bars tend to press inward toward the rod O and force the collars B and B apart and so contract the diameter of the device, While to expand such diameter there is provided a nut E, screwed upon a threaded 5o part of the rod that bears against the outer end of the movable collar B and is adapted to press it toward the fixed collar. The peripheral surface ot' the nut is knurlefd or rougliened to permit its ready manipulation by the fingers.

The sharp edges on the opposite sides of each of the bar portions ct are preferably made by the formation of a longitudinal groove in the outer side of thebar. This groove may be readily made by stamping or pressing a 6o flat bar in suitable dies to bend it, so that in cross-section it is concave-convex, and preierably' this grooving is not confined to the portion a, but is extended therefrom along each oi' the other portions, stopping short or 65 ending, however, before the collars B and I3 are reached, so that there is an ungrooved or flat portieri adjacent to each collar. The `grooving of the bar portion a by bendingnot only provides the two sharp edges, but it 7o also greatly stiffens the bar, and it is because of the sti ffening effect produced that I extend the grooving along the other parts of each bar, as above described. My purpose in leaving the flat or ungrooved portions at each end of. the bar is to locate the places of greatest flexibility at such points, which are those nearest the rod O, and thus avoid the possibility ot1 any portion of the bars intermediate the portions a and d and the ends getting 8o higher than the portions a, and ct when the bars are excessively bowed.

A convenient way of uniting the bars A and A and the collars B and B is to form in one end of each collar B an annular groove h and to insert in the latter the ends of the bars and solder them to the collar. The :fixed collar B is preferably screwed on the end of the rod O, and projecting from said fixed collar is a threaded stud h', by which the tool 9o may be coupled to an operating-rod.

To clean a gun-barrel with my tool, it is attached by means of a stud b to a cleaner-rod, and by means of the nut E the bars A and A are sprung outward until the diameter of the tool at the series of oblique portions d and a is expanded to make it slightly greater than the gage or bore of the barrel. The tool is now passed through the latter one or more times. In its passage through the barrel the roo sharp edges of the bar portions a, and c, being oblique or crosswise of the line of travel of the tool and pressing gently against the barrel-surface, willscrape or cut from such surface whatever fouling may be thereon by an easy drawing action. Whateveris taken o by the forward cutting edge of each portion a will pass through the spaces between the bars, and should such forward edge fail to remove the fouling substance the second or rear edge will engage it and it will be deposited in the groove. Without l(he groove and with a flat surface there would be likelihood of matter adhering to such surface, and acting to prevent contact with the barrel it would render the barineffective. The angular length of each bar portion a is such that the several portions overlap circumferen,

tially, so that the entire surface of the gunbarrel in a circumferential direction is engaged by the cutting edges, and hence no portion of the barrel-surface is missed when the tool is passed through the barrel. It will be seen that by the series of inclined portions a and et all of the advantage of a continuous spiral scraping device is secured, and yet the lack of rigidity of a Jcontinuous spiral is avoided, for the strain on the portions d and a, in a direction endwise of the tool is sustained nearly in a direct line from end to end by the longitudinally-extending portions of the bars A and A.

The tool can be used without being attached to a cleaner-rod by attaching itinstead to a cord, and after first passing the cord through the barrel then drawing the tool therethrough. The material of which the cleaner-bars are made, whether brass or other metal, must of course be softer than the gunbarrel to avoid scratching of the latter; but

though softer, and consequently wearing away, the scraping edges of the bars will remain sharp, because of their grooved form.

While the details of construction shown and described are desirable, as resulting in a most satisfactory tool, and hence are preferably used, it is to be understood that the scope of the invention extends to constructions that may be dissimilar to the one shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isl. A cleaner for guns, dac., consisting of a tool provided with a series of longitudinallyextending, flexible bars, each having intermediate its ends a portion extending crosswise of the tool to form a scraper, and each bar, intermediate its ends being concave-convex in cross-section, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In a cleaner, the combination of a rod, two collars thereon, a series of bars interposed between said collars, having longitudinally and obliquely extending portions, said bars being flat, or substantially fiat in cross-section adjacent the collars, and concavo-convex in cross-section at other points, and means for moving one collar along the rod relative to the other, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 26th day of August, 1899.

EDWIN A. PUGH.

Witnesses:

J oHN HoLvEY, RICHARD HoLvEY. 

